Spectators more drawn to limited-overs cricket: Gayle

Chris Gayle has continued to fan the flames he started a few months ago when he said he "wouldn't be sad at the demise of Test cricket". Gayle has now said that he is not surprised by the poor attendance Test matches have been getting recently.

"If you look at what's happening now, it's no secret," Gayle said. "At the same time we're always going to be committed to whatever cricket we play. I can't say 'Test cricket is going to die' and it just happens like that. It's just how things have been progressing the last couple of months. Spectators haven't turned out. They're more drawn to the coloured clothing at this point in time."

His counterpart in the current series, Ricky Ponting, had a very different view, and wanted to preserve the health of Test matches by having sporting wickets.

"Test cricket, when it was at its most exciting, was all about three or four fast bowlers and lots of bouncers being bowled and lots of hook shots being played," Ponting said.

"The hostility between bat and ball, I think, was the most attractive thing. Now a lot of wickets around the world are very, very similar. Scoring rates are very high, probably too high, and there's not that real tough contest between fast bowler and batsman."

Australia and West Indies are playing a Test series currently in Australia, with crowd attendance being medium rather than large. However, it is to be noted that for marquee series such as Australia-England or Australia-India, the stadiums are still packed in Australia.